The five Ringling brothers first entered the tented-circus business in 1884 with a show they called Yankee Robinson and Ringling Brothers Great Double Shows and Caravan. The boys had been working toward this day for some time. [Note: For a more detailed look at the evolution of Ringling Bros.

This Week in Geek is a weekly blog about new comics written by Worthpoint Comic book Worthologist Matt Baum. Every Wednesday Matt takes a look at the week’s new comics from a collector’s point-of-view and discusses which books may be hard to find in the near future and why.

When collecting autographs, it is better to collect letters and documents and avoid clipped signatures (signatures that were cut from letters or documents). First, there is nothing historical about a clip, and Secondly, it is very hard to properly authenticate a clipped signature. Go for letters and documents and other “larger” items.

Today the subject of death is largely avoided and it is expected that any signs of grief should be done only in private. We have removed ourselves from the reality of death and it has become a sterile process, gone is the the loving vigil of the family attending to the physical and spiritual needs of the dying person.

In a recent issue of a monthly newspaper dedicated to movie poster collecting, five of seven dealers used the one-sheet from 1957’s “Forbidden Planet” showing Robbie the Robot cradling sexy Anne Francis in his metallic arms as a prominent part of their ad.

Some Tolkien fans never forgave Ralph Bakshi for his animated version of “The Lord of the Rings,” at least until Peter Jackson did the trilogy right in live action (and plenty of computer generated imagery).

The value of old books can vary based on many, many factors. Unfortunately, your book may not have a high value just because it is old – or even because it is a famous title. The following guidelines for 19th and 20th century books are just a few areas that may help explain valuation.

I grew up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and the practice of taking postmortem photographs was a normal occurrence. After moving and marrying someone who was raised in a large city I became aware that what I had been taught as a life-affirming practice was viewed as macabre and just plain creepy by many.